HILO, Hawai'i – The Hawai'i Hilo Women's Volleyball team came firing out to take a heated opening set but ultimately fell to No. 18 Chaminade in four sets (28-26, 15-25, 21-25, 17-25) Saturday evening in Pacific West Conference play at the Vulcan Gymnasium.
The opening set was as close as it could get, needing extra points to settle the score as the lead never grew to larger than three points apart. Hawai'i Hilo held a 24-21 lead but Chaminade flipped the script by taking five of the next six points to set up set point in its favor at 26-25. A kill by Taylor Tullo followed by two Silverswords hitting errors put an end to that as the Vulcans took the opening-set win.
"Chaminade is a high-powered offense and we did a pretty good job neutralizing that in the first set. We did a good job defensively," Hawai'i Hilo head coach Chris Leonard said. "They're a well-balanced team. We made some plays at times, but we missed a few I think we can be better at."
Chaminade turned the heat up in Set 2 with a .462 hitting percentage and prevented Hawai'i Hilo from building any momentum with a 93-percent sideout rate on points (15-16) in a 10-point win.
The Silverswords continued with a 25-21 win in Set 3 before closing with a 25-17 score. With the match still within reach in Set 4, the Vulcans battled and kept inching forward with the lead, but the 'Swords rode a mid-set six-point swing to take a five-point advantage all the way through for the win.
"We got out-blocked quite a bit tonight and that's kind of been our Achilles' heel. That's something we'll work on, for sure." Leonard said, referring to the Silverswords' 12-2 advantage in blocks. "Looking forward to getting back in the gym to make adjustments because it's going to be high-level competition with the next few opponents coming in."
STATS SHEET
- Taylor Tullo (13) and Isabella Hadaller (12) each tallied double-digit kills as the Vulcans finished hitting at a .134 rate.
- Vulcans finished with just two aces to the Silverswords' 13.
- All four sets played through at least eight tied scores.
HFS FAN FUN NIGHT
Saturday night's match was HFS Fan Fun Night, sponsored by HFS Federal Credit Union.
Fans were treated to free giveaways and were invited to participate in a serving contest with five winners taking home HFS FCU goodie bags.
For more information on HFS Federal Credit Union, visit HFSFCU.org.
UP NEXT
Hawai'i Hilo moved to 7-9 overall (4-4 PacWest) while Chaminade moved to a 7-2 conference record (19-2 overall)..
The Vulcans will continue at home next Friday, Oct. 20 against PacWest Conference newcomer Westmont College. Hawai'i Hilo will follow with home games against Biola (Oct. 21) and Fresno Pacific (Oct. 23) before traveling to Southern California.
ONLINE TICKETS
Single-game and season tickets are now available to be purchased online through Hawai'i Hilo Vulcans Athletics' recently launched online ticket platform in partnership with AudienceView Campus.
The 2023 slate will feature 10 total home matches at the Vulcan Gymnasium with a package price of $75 for adults and $40 for seniors (ages 65-plus) and middle/high school students.
Both can be accessed at HiloAthletics.com/tickets.
PACWEST HAWAI'I CHALLENGE
In an effort to elevate Hawai'i-based rivalries, the PacWest Hawaii Challenge has awarded the top school in athletics competition among the state's Division II institutions going back to the late 1970s.
Comprising 10 sports that all three schools participate in, points are awarded from head-to-head Pacific West Conference matchups as well as final placements at conference-ending meets and events. At the conclusion of each sport's season, the team with the highest total gets three points while the second-highest gets two and the third-place finisher receives one.
HPU holds a temporary lead over the pack with its men's soccer team managing to grab the win in both of their matches against the Vulcans and Silverswords. Women's soccer, women's volleyball and women's cross country will be determined in the coming weeks to wrap up the fall season.
